House Democrats likely to launch wide-ranging probes into Trump administration

Nov 7, 2018

House Democrats likely to launch wide-ranging probes into Trump administration

WASHINGTON — Late last month, two new job listings appeared on a congressional bulletin for staffers to help Democrats conduct investigations into a variety of topics, from energy and the environment to cybersecurity.

The listings were a small but significant clue about Democrats’ strategy for the 116th Congress, which will be sworn in next January.

Last night’s election means that as the party in control of the House of Representatives, the Democrats will chair all 21 of that chamber’s committees. With that control comes the power to launch investigations.

President Trump seemed aware of the threat, blasting a preemptive counterattack via Twitter on Wednesday morning.

If the Democrats think they are going to waste Taxpayer Money investigating us at the House level, then we will likewise be forced to consider investigating them for all of the leaks of Classified Information, and much else, at the Senate level. Two can play that game!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018

Democrats — should they wish to do so — can investigate the president’s finances, his 2016 presidential campaign’s relationship with Russia and ethical transgressions by members of his cabinet. For the first time in the Trump era, the president’s opponents will have subpoena powers.

But these new powers could also be a trap, according to interviews with multiple Democratic staffers, former legislators and others familiar with the matters in question. They fear that Trump’s staunchest critics could lead the Democrats to overplay their hand and squander their newfound investigative powers on partisan forays likely to yield little in the way of insight about the administration’s workings. Read more

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